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The Jewish Voice in the Ghettos and Concentration Camps
The Jewish Voice in the Ghettos and Concentration Camps
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Verbal Expression under Nazi Oppression
How many words did the Jews have for “bread” and “hunger” during the
Holocaust? How many different expressions did they coin to describe
their “dreams” and “hopes”? As early as December 1945, Yisrael Kaplan
(1902–2003) – an established historian and literary essayist, and editor
of Fun Letstn Khurbn, the Yiddish journal published by the Central
Historical Commission in the immediate aftermath of the war – circulated
among survivors a questionnaire on ethnographic-linguistic topics. This
was one aspect of the Commission’s endeavor to provide historians with
insight into the inner lives of the Jews in Nazi-controlled Europe.
Kaplan’s main goal was to document for posterity the vast popular
cultural activity that flourished in Nazi Europe, despite the increasing
persecution and annihilation of the Jews. This volume is a unique
collection of poems, jokes, popular expressions, proverbs, slogans,
common curses, secret codes, and more that were devised by Jews in the
camps and ghettos as a way of coping with the harsh reality. The terms
and sayings reflect the Jews’ attitudes toward the Nazi oppressors and
their collaborators and demonstrate the resilience of the Jewish spirit
against all odds.
Author : Yisrael Kaplan I Pages : 144 I Format : Softcover I Publisher : Yad Vashem
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